Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

I have amended this blog post because I was rather unfair in some respects.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has revised its advice on the AstraZeneca Covid 19 vaccine in response to new vaccine safety concerns. it has been recommended that administration of the AZ vaccine be suspended for the 50-59 age group. This group should instead have the Pfizer vaccine (excepting those who have already had their first dose without incident). The AZ vaccine is still recommended for those above 60 years of age. See here for the ATAGI advice.

I imagine many under 60 years will welcome this new advice. My concern is for those over 60 years who might be holding off having their AZ shot, eg. my father, who is a few months shy of 80. He’s not in the best of health and it may therefore seem foolhardy for him to be equivocating, but geez, can we just get these old codgers jabbed with a quick acting mRNA vaccine or at least ensure they are given some frank advice that puts their individual risk in perspective. He has seen four or five doctors in the last couple of months regarding his prospective knee operation. You would have thought one of those doctors would have raised the vaccination issue. Apparently not. But I’m on my father’s case and he is seeing yet another doctor tomorrow. Who knows how long this old bloke is going to live once he gets a new knee? My father recently attended his aunt’s 101 birthday so good genes. My mum had her AZ shot last week. We are all nervous but hopeful.

Anyway, back to my Friday song. I’ve chosen How Bizarre by New Zealand band, OMC. I was saddened to learn that lead singer Pauly Fuemana died in 2010. How Bizarre is a great legacy. It is one of my all time favourite dance songs. I danced to it several times today. For research. I obviously haven’t been dancing very much lately because my dog, Makea, got terribly excited and jumped up on me several times and rounded out the ending of the song with a barkfest. Perhaps she thought I was hypo, hypoglycemic that is. I wasn’t. I recommend you put your dancing shoes on and enjoy. While you still can, you know.

Look after yourself, everyone. Broach the vaccine issue with your doctor if you are unsure.

In Pauly Feumana’s words, “Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights…” If only that were possible.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

44 thoughts on “Bizarrely Enough”

  1. I am so sorry for those families who have lost loved ones from the vaccine or covid. There are risks always in all that we do. A person that appears to be healthy may have conditions completely unknown to them. My first shot was the AZ and I was nervous. I had a strong reaction to it and was down and out for four days. I’m scheduled for the Pfizer today. I’ll be happy to have my second shot done. So, I’m grooving to your tune this morning as we just never know…we have to grab those small moments of happiness.

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    1. So true, Heather.
      I was smashed too for about the same amount of time. Could not keep my eyes open. I was a bit sore before I had my shot, but my pain is chronic now like a return of my old foe, fibromyalgia. Probably coincidence but I can’t help wondering.
      Good luck with your second shot, Heather. Rest well and hope to hear from you again in a few days.

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  2. What a great song! My cats looked at me, but had no interest in joining in. My husband and I are fully vaxxed but now with the Delta variant lurking, it feels weird to be out and about again. Good luck to your dad.

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    1. I can imagine the look on your cats’ faces, Lois. I hope you still get to do some of the things you like to do, Lois. Time with friends and family is precious, especially as we get older, so I guess we can only do as much as possible to protect ourselves and others and then hope for the best. Thankfully most of my friends plan to get vaccinated as soon as there are sufficient supplies. I guess there could be businesses who will use Hepa filters to reduce airborne contaminants.
      I’m not sure what my dad will do. The sooner he talks to his doctors, the better.

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  3. Best of luck to your dad with his next doctor appointment.

    How Bizarre was a big hit and I haven’t it heard it in I don’t remember how long! (And now I’ll be hearing it in my head for the rest of the day!)

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  4. I love that song and Teddy dances with me when I dance. he doesn’t even think it’s strange dancing. He thinks I’m cool.

    The vaccine thing is just incredibly weird. When it results in someone’s death it’s so sad and one of those bizarre reminders that everything we do carries a modicum of risk whether we know it or not. We’re always consciously or unconsciously balancing that risk (as far as we know it) against the benefits. This past year we’ve had to do it more than any other time in my memory, except for the daredevil mountain climbers etc. but even they get to choose in ways the virus doesn’t permit. ❤

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    1. Maybe it is the herding dogs that like dancing? My two hunting dogs can’t grasp the concept.
      I feel deeply troubled, Martha, about the vaccine deaths and about those people who haven’t recovered yet from the clots. If it had happened to me, I would have liked people to know that I made the best decision for myself and for my community at the time. I hope the families of those that have got these serious clots feel that their loved ones understood and accepted that risk. Hopefully we will get additional supplies of mRNA vaccines soon so that we won’t have to make that difficult choice – a choice made even more difficult because we have less than a hundred infections here.

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  5. I was just talking to a colleague today who can’t have any vaccinations because she’s medically compromised. She has to rely on everyone else being vaccinated. And everyone is being ordered back to campus next month–while the Delta variant is rapidly gaining a foothold across the country. Here’s the bizarre part: the division of the college we work for is 100% online.

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  6. Love this song Tracy. I am unsure about getting my vaccination until I talk to my Dr about my condition and the possibles. Luckily I live in isolation and am a bit more so now.

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  7. Our old shepherd collie cross used to dance conga lifestyle with the kids. some dogs like to dance and others think we need to cool it.
    I had Covid last April. This April I had the Moderna. I was mildly ill after the first, and really sick after the second one. The entire family had Covid, and we all had similar results with vaccination. My wife is a nurse and it walked in the door with her from her facility.
    I feel very bad for those who lost loved ones. But I’ve tried to take the time to console medical and nursing care givers I know as well. My GP lost about a hundred patients in his family practice, and those are not the worst of the numbers. Many of the family practices and specialty practices around where I live are “hollowed out” – they’ve lost staff to covid, and to burnout. A Urology practice I know of is down to three MD’s. the consequences keep rolling down hill.

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    1. My dog Makea is a herding dog. My friend, Martha, has a dog that also likes to dance. It is also a herding dog and your collie dog, herding instincts too. Another coincidence perhaps. 🙂
      The scale of loss from this pandemic is devastating – how unprepared the world was and how short-sighted some leaders were. You’ve painted a very grim situation, Lou.
      We are like sitting ducks here in Australia if we fail to stop the new variants taking hold. Hopefully those most at risk here in Australia will think twice about delaying vaccination. Many are prepared to take the risk with the AZ vaccine because they have seen what has happened elsewhere. I think our government is ordering supplies of mRNA vaccines to inspire confidence but it hasn’t really had an effective campaign on the harm that could occur at an individual and societal level. It is much easier to talk about how they’ve got everything under control.

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  8. Love that song. The whole change of age range thing is unsettling. My husband turned 50 this year. He has survived his first jab of AZ. His brother however (who is a little older) is ending up with Pfizer. When you’re right on the borderline and then they suddenly up the borderline by 10 years, it’s disconcerting, to say the least. When P had his AZ the nude presented him with the list of possible side effects. He told her that both his parents and parents in law had suffered very little with their doses. She replied “oh, that’s because they’re old. This vaccine was designed for them. You will get side effects.”. She was right. So I hope your Dad gets jabbed and suffers not at all.

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    1. Yep, it is disconcerting because the simple maths based on other countries’ experience in April probably indicated that deaths and injury would occur in this cohort but as soon as that happens, the threshold is quickly changed. ATAGI members are not stupid, so maybe it was a way of getting as many people vaccinated as possible with AZ before the shit hit the fan and confidence fell on AZ and led to collateral damage to other vaccines? I don’t envy ATAGI. It is a difficult balancing act. I made up my mind in April that I wasn’t going to wait for mRNA. AZ is not the safest or most effective but good enough for me. Incidentally, it is not the worst either.
      I’m guessing your husband had his shot so he could protect you too.

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  10. I, too, get nervous anytime I hear about someone dying after the vaccine. We had a 46 yr old woman pass recently from the AZ vax. But at the same time, you hear that these things are normal, right?

    As in the majority of folks don’t have a negative reaction. Can we apply the same statistics to say driving? 1 out of 10,000 drivers return home safely or something like that? I don’t know. I’m not an expert.

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    1. Oh, Lani. I don’t know. I would prefer it if young people like you could have a different vaccine but that doesn’t look like it is going to happen soon for you where you live. Even with mRNA vaccines, reports are emerging of heart inflammation in some young men. My boys would still probably take the risk though. Who knows what new variants might bring younger people in future? How long will it be before people in your age group can access a vaccine?

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      1. Young ppl like me? 😛 Hahahaha. I’m a young 40ish then.

        I really don’t know what’s going on over here. One day the govt will announce such and such and the next day they’ll take it back. It’s utterly ridiculous.

        Read an article about how they turned down several offers late last year for vaccines from Pfizer and India — they also really screwed up when they allowed the Thai New Year to be celebrated like we were in normal times, this as a result, ended up creating our 3rd wave.

        Today there’s a headline about how it’s okay to MIX diff vaccinations???

        Honestly, I’m waiting for this 3 ring circus to leave town… at this point, I’ll try to head back to the States during the Christmas holidays and get vaccinated there…

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  11. I’m shocked that one of your followers who’s had Covid had a bad reaction after the injection.
    We have had the first AZ and were both laid low for 24 hours. Not looking forward to the second one: even though we’re all being told the likelihood of severe side effects is rare, we feel like we’ll be running the gauntlet.
    Thanks for the song. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before. I see it has had more than 25m views on YouTube!

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    1. There was a report in the Lancet (27 April) that indicated that those who had previously had Covid were reporting more severe reactions with the three main vaccines. My second shot is scheduled for next Saturday. I’m nervous too, but you know, hoping for the best. I’m hoping for the best for a lot of people, including you and your husband, Jane. I don’t think I would have been brave enough to have it without the other brave people who had it before me.
      The song is a real treat, Jane. I’ve listened to it about 10 times since choosing it for Friday song day.

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  12. Great song and timely! I’ve had my shots, and love the sense of freedom with no more masks! (Ok, I still take it with me, and I don’t go out a lot, but I haven’t had to wear a mast for a couple of weeks now). With regards to the shots, especially for the elderly, my parents got their shots right away, no effects at all. Life is full of risks… I hope your second shot goes off without a hitch.

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      1. Tracy, yes I feel a sense of freedom! Oh but we have had crazy heat! 115+ I am so tired of it. But this week we have a cool down… 107! And it really does feel cooler! 🤣😂🤣😂 no, really it does!

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  14. I hear ya! We have limited choice between AZ and the homegrown Covaxin. While the world is reducing the time gap between the two AZ shots, we have increased it. Sound medical reasons?? No. Lack of vaccines!!! ☹️

    Fabulous song, though.

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  15. Here in the US, the vaccine – who’s gotten it, who refuses – has become political fodder. So awful as the more people who delay getting inoculated or refuse it altogether, the more of the rest of the population will get sick. This whole world is so polarized, I fear the Earth will split apart and we’ll all fall into the chasm.

    Wishing good health and an unsore knee for your dad – also, a shot! The right kind.

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